Montbretia in Green Bottle

Another from the green series.
Dave mentioned the 'muddy' shadows in yesterday's Parsley in a Bottle
which was fair comment - so I'm never sure, if I can't avoid shadows
do I just leave then as they are. Ideally I'll like to get the lighting right so
that there are no shadows apart from anchoring the subject.
All help welcome please.
Meanwhile I was delighted with the response to the said 'Parsley' image
and must say a big thank you to Annette for her prcious User award!
Kate

I think you need bit of shadows on shots like this Kate,
otherwise I reckon it looks a bit ''flat'' !!
And the steel in my uploads are the supporting bases for the columns of the bridge to stand on.
Mick.

I think you need bit of shadows on shots like this Kate,
otherwise I reckon it looks a bit ''flat'' !!
And the steel in my uploads are the supporting bases for the columns of the bridge to stand on.
Mick.

Sorry, Kate, not having attempted such work, I am not in any position to offer advice, nor to critique effectively: I see that some shadows have been thrown by the flowers, mainly behind, but none really by the bottle.
Not sure just how to evaluate your work but others will be able to offer some useful advice, I'm sure.
Good that you are attempting something different though and I wish you all success with it.
Ronnie.

Sorry, Kate, not having attempted such work, I am not in any position to offer advice, nor to critique effectively: I see that some shadows have been thrown by the flowers, mainly behind, but none really by the bottle.
Not sure just how to evaluate your work but others will be able to offer some useful advice, I'm sure.
Good that you are attempting something different though and I wish you all success with it.
Ronnie.

Heaven forfend that we post shadows on a day other than Saturday - a new rule from the photo Mafia perchance? I like the soft shadows here Kate., but then again I take the photo Mafia's rules with a [i]huge[/i] pinch of salt.
Love the flowers, love the bottle. What's not to like?

Heaven forfend that we post shadows on a day other than Saturday - a new rule from the photo Mafia perchance? I like the soft shadows here Kate., but then again I take the photo Mafia's rules with a huge pinch of salt.

I think that you need shadows in many photos; they give a sense of form and depth. Sometimes, as with product photography, you might want to eliminate or minimize shadows. And, one reason I like to shoot color on rainy days.....no shadows and low contrast, high saturation.
Peter

I think that you need shadows in many photos; they give a sense of form and depth. Sometimes, as with product photography, you might want to eliminate or minimize shadows. And, one reason I like to shoot color on rainy days.....no shadows and low contrast, high saturation.

Nothing wrong with the shadows, Kate.
A lovely composition.
You know yourself how to avoid shadows if you don't want them.
Either bleach them out with a strong light on your background (in which case you will alter the tonal range)
or Move the subject to a place further forward thus avoiding shadows ( ditto ).
In this case it's just right.
Shortlisted.

Nothing wrong with the shadows, Kate.
A lovely composition.
You know yourself how to avoid shadows if you don't want them.
Either bleach them out with a strong light on your background (in which case you will alter the tonal range)
or Move the subject to a place further forward thus avoiding shadows ( ditto ).
In this case it's just right.
Shortlisted.

Another big YES from me. Lovely composition, simple but it works, shadows in this one are perfect and I even like the frame. One tiny little niggle, and I'm being super critical here, is that the bottle is just a tad off the vertical, otherwise perfect.
Andy

Another big YES from me. Lovely composition, simple but it works, shadows in this one are perfect and I even like the frame. One tiny little niggle, and I'm being super critical here, is that the bottle is just a tad off the vertical, otherwise perfect.

[quote]Heaven forfend that we post shadows on a day other than Saturday - a new rule from the photo Mafia perchance? I like the soft shadows here Kate., but then again I take the photo Mafia's rules with a huge pinch of salt.
Love the flowers, love the bottle. What's not to like?[/quote]
I agree, to me this one is perfection and a real work of art.
Harriet

Quote:Heaven forfend that we post shadows on a day other than Saturday - a new rule from the photo Mafia perchance? I like the soft shadows here Kate., but then again I take the photo Mafia's rules with a huge pinch of salt.

[quote]One tiny little niggle, and I'm being super critical here, is that the bottle is just a tad off the vertical, otherwise perfect.
Andy[/quote]
I've just enlarged it and measured it on the screen and it's jolly near perfect.
0.5mm over 21 inches.

Quote:One tiny little niggle, and I'm being super critical here, is that the bottle is just a tad off the vertical, otherwise perfect.
Andy

I've just enlarged it and measured it on the screen and it's jolly near perfect.
0.5mm over 21 inches.

Nothing against shadows per se, Kate, it was just that they didn't seem to fit artistically with the image on your last. In contrast, they do work on this one giving an essential depth to the image. Some people like to stick to the guidelines, some have an anarchical response to them - far better to treat each image individually. Love the colour combination on this one as well.
Dave

Nothing against shadows per se, Kate, it was just that they didn't seem to fit artistically with the image on your last. In contrast, they do work on this one giving an essential depth to the image. Some people like to stick to the guidelines, some have an anarchical response to them - far better to treat each image individually. Love the colour combination on this one as well.

Shadows thrown on the the background would not score well in competition Kate, and I know you enter many competitions! The problem being is the direct frontal flash that you have used, does your camera support off camera flash? if it does then use it higher and too the left or right to anchor the subject with a slight shadow on the floor, this would also entail experimenting with reducing the strength of the flash output, remember from your studio lighting nights at your club how the set up was achieved, hope this helps. I do like the capture but background shadow for me does not work again looking through a retired Judges eyes.
Regards
Trev.

Shadows thrown on the the background would not score well in competition Kate, and I know you enter many competitions! The problem being is the direct frontal flash that you have used, does your camera support off camera flash? if it does then use it higher and too the left or right to anchor the subject with a slight shadow on the floor, this would also entail experimenting with reducing the strength of the flash output, remember from your studio lighting nights at your club how the set up was achieved, hope this helps. I do like the capture but background shadow for me does not work again looking through a retired Judges eyes.

Beautiful shot !!.....lovely subject, & nicely arranged !
My thoughts ??......move the b/g farther back, to send it out of focus a bit, & help to reduce the shadows !
Secondly................arrange your main light above, & slightly behind the subject (almost backlighting), & position a
white card near the camera position to throw some light into the shadows.
All the shadows should now be towards the camera, with some rim-light on the flowers to lift
them from the b/g, & add a bit of 'zing' to the shot.
Not a criticism, just a few ideas for you to try out.....?.:)

Beautiful shot !!.....lovely subject, & nicely arranged !

My thoughts ??......move the b/g farther back, to send it out of focus a bit, & help to reduce the shadows !
Secondly................arrange your main light above, & slightly behind the subject (almost backlighting), & position a
white card near the camera position to throw some light into the shadows.
All the shadows should now be towards the camera, with some rim-light on the flowers to lift
them from the b/g, & add a bit of 'zing' to the shot.

No probs for me with shadows in a still life. Trev is right, though. Try to throw the shadows to one side or the other next time. Would also help "fill"a blank piece of wall, and thus would "balance" a composition. This said, you are really mastering this technique so well!

No probs for me with shadows in a still life. Trev is right, though. Try to throw the shadows to one side or the other next time. Would also help "fill"a blank piece of wall, and thus would "balance" a composition. This said, you are really mastering this technique so well!